My Mister Mister

This boy warms my heart. He completely makes me a crazy person but he cracks me up and definitely keeps me on my toes. One of my greatest hopes for him is that he'll keep the joy that he finds in everything (even though it tends to be found in a cabinet or drawer he shouldn't be getting into) and he'll continue to be known for his ear-to-ear smile. God bless it.

One Small Step for my Little Man

We're consistently asked when we're out in public if Austin is always the cheerful, happy and charming baby he appears to be. While he is for the most part (when he's not crying he's smiling) it's sometimes a challenge to explain his little personality... he's the sweetest baby with an incredibly strong will. Really, he's just stubborn but I feel like "stubborn" has a negative connotation and strong willed can be a positive character trait. Thank you thesaurus.

For example, he never ate baby food - he went straight from a bottle to table food. No rice cereal, no nasty peas in a jar... straight to steak and potatoes. (or pizza. whatever.) Then it was the transition from a bottle to a sippy cup... he'll go the entire day without drinking any milk, which he loves more than anything, because it's not in a bottle. He'll be crying for milk while he's holding a sippy cup full of it, but won't drink from a cup because he doesn't want to.

Now it's walking. Justin and I thought for sure he'd be walking well before his first birthday. At nine months-old he was pulling himself up standing and climbing up the stairs. He's mastered holding your hands and walking, and walking along furniture but has no interest in walking on his own. If you let go of his hand and encourage him to take a couple steps he folds his knees in and starts crawling to the carrot held above his head. BUT today he teased us with a couple steps! Needless to say we were pretty thrilled and excited and as you'll see, Bella was stoked to get in the mix and help him along as well. I love those moments of our small family as we share milestones together. YAY!

Austin walking at 12 1/2 months:


just for fun here's Bella walking at 12 months (first birthday!):

...I see you!

a pick-me-up I get daily... I get to spend the day with his guy. Love him!!

First Birthday

I was really excited to have the opportunity to celebrate Austin's first birthday in Colorado with our CO friends and family... it's too far and few between that we get the opportunity to celebrate birthdays (ours or theirs) with them. Although he had absolutely no idea what all the fuss was about, he thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to eat all day. He only weighs 20 pounds but this kid eats more than Bella already… if there’s food in front of him, he’ll keep eating. I don't know of another 12 month-old that eats three pancakes, eggs and strawberries for breakfast and would've finished more if we didn’t take food away from him.

He was in his element being passed from one person to the next, charming each and every one of them with his sweet smile. He especially liked when everyone was eating, he was like a migrating bird crawling around getting pieces of everybody’s lunch. When it was time for his cake he was fascinated by the flame and took full advantage of all the frosting Justin had to use to fill in my second attempt at his smash cake. Sweet Moses.

First Meal

At Austin's four-month check up his pediatrician suggested we start him on rice cereal in the upcoming month. false. I wasn't ready for him to be old enough to be able to eat, and I was still breastfeeding and wasn't interested in any chomping confusion. Too much information boys, sorry! Two months later the well dried up so I was ready to try the rice cereal. I kept the box in the cupboard for two weeks and just recently we sat down to kiss Austin's days of being an itty bitty baby behind us. (lets be honest, this kid was never itty bitty, but you know...)


We're getting ready to take some six-month pictures this weekend and I'll post those along with some updates how he's doing and what he's up to, but for now I wanted to share the video of him eating for the first time. You can see how exhausting it can be having such a smiley baby all the time... love him!

To Jesus, with care.

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord; for his whole life he will be given to the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:27-28.

We dedicated Austin at church this morning. I am so blessed and thankful for the opportunity to give the Lord what is His. We were surrounded by a small group of friends and family that gathered to support us and Austin. It was such a special moment - one of the first of truly relinquishing ownership of my child and recognizing that he is the Lord's. We are blessed with the ridiculous pressure to raise him and Bella in a way that encourages them and prepares them to be servant leaders.

We were challenged the other week at church to find life verses for each of our kids... pressure! I don't have one yet, I want to pick something that I think will challenge each and play to the strengths in their personalities that are already coming through. Austin's would use his tender heart and joy he brings everyone around him. Bella's would be about her ability to reach people and bring them together with her humor and personality. and something in leadership, her fierce independent personality will certainly aid to that.